


my heart beats for you, my world

by marxsoul



Category: Subarashiki Kono Sekai | The World Ends With You
Genre: Afterlife, M/M, Mutual Pining, Nonbinary Kiryu "Joshua" Yoshiya, angels do not know gender they only know be gay eat hot chip and lie, no descs of the death tho its just implied
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:13:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25242970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marxsoul/pseuds/marxsoul
Summary: those headphones his proxy left behind were theirs now, and would be for all eternity.
Relationships: Kiryu "Joshua" Yoshiya/Sakuraba Neku
Comments: 4
Kudos: 22





	my heart beats for you, my world

forehead pressed against the mural, Neku whispered,  
"someday i'll find you, so please wait for me."  
after some silent moments go by, he bids farewell once more to Shibuya, his home... Joshua, the one who changed him for good...

those headphones his proxy left behind were theirs now, and would be for all eternity.

the years go by, every single year, on the same day... Neku visits the very same mural, and he swears he could almost feel it... they, who saved him, can't be seen, but they're there, waiting... neither could ever forget. even if he can't see or hear them, they have the liveliest of conversations, both their eyes alight with joy, talking about their lives... Well, Neku and his own, for the most part.

the only times Joshua would turn the music on those headphones off.

'give up on yourself, and you give up on the world... weren't you the one that told me that?'

remembering these words, they would both continue to love Shibuya, and the world around them... even if those visits were less frequent... even if things were to change...

on that day, he didn't visit. the streets of Shibuya suddenly felt emptier.

they couldn't hear his Music anymore.

being the Composer, having the entire city in your small hand... taking care of it... guiding it through love for mankind... they were never the benevolent type, until Neku exhibited such raw passion and kindness, comparable only to Joshua's much earlier days as the Composer,

and now he's gone, Neku's gone,

...

surely without any regrets.

...

they, Joshua, were truly...alone, once more. friendless, once more.

...

these things happen. they merely resigned himself to their role.

yet they truly felt the hope in their heart exhaust at the strike of 12.

\--

the dead god's pad was a peculiar place, what with the underwater tank and the foosball table. sofas to sink yourself into for a few years if you felt like it. today, it was empty, the current Game Master and Reapers were out and about. Busy with the game.

none of the Players caught their eye. several had well impressed them, but never as much as Neku had. it could be the fact that Neku was the only one they ever formed a true Pact with, after their rise to Composer.

they remember even now, seeing him point that gun at them, only to hesitate, unwilling to shoot. in that moment, he gave it all up for him, for Joshua... at the risk of losing everything he loved...  
but he loved Joshua, too.

and so Joshua could never forget. how full of love he was for life, and for others, how he changed through those 3 weeks... how powerful Nekus presence was, even in that moment of 'weakness'...

they swear they can even feel it now,

eminating from the Room of Reckoning.

immediately piqued, Joshua summoned his wings to fly through to there, only to find...

Neku. standing before him, in the middle of the room. looking not a day older from when he won the game. Angel wings too, adorned his back, albeit smaller.

"Josh, it was about time you got here. my headphones been treating you well?"

eyes wide open, joshuas legs, their body moved without them willing it, approaching him,

"what... are you..."

embracing him tight, not wishing for Neku to see their tears, and yet he could hear them anyways,

"doing here...?"

Neku was caught off guard by just how emotional Joshua was in that moment, so contrast to their usual dispostion.

yet he eventually felt the same feelings crash into him.

almost a century of time apart can do this to you, he supposed.

hugging Joshua tighter, the two held eachother for a long time...

"i told you, didn't i? that i'd find you, and wait for you."

"... did you live a fufilling life?"

"i did."

"then... why? why come back?"

"i literally just told you, dude."

several moments more passed. they both simply wanted to bask in eachothers warmth,

"well, it's no lie that I wanted to ask something else."

seperating from the hug, yet still close, joshua graced their hand over neku's cheek,

"what is it... my dear?"

"i want to... reincarnate. with you."

they found themself almost dumbstruck, at such an idea, the absursity... the desire to immediately say yes, and yet...

"... my obligations as the Composer cannot be abandoned so easily. you know better than anyone..."

the memories of when they last tried, in this very room, never truly left either of them. Neku wiped his tears away,

"alright, then. i'll stay with you here."

"... pardon?"

"i was able to get this far, it shouldn't be a problem. is that something you gotta consult the higher-ups about?"

teary-eyed still, they rested their head on Neku's shoulder, laughing quietly. they intertwined their fingers with Nekus, holding his hand tight.

"probably not."

"then it works out. besides..."

running his hand through Joshua's utterly fluffy hair, he continued,

"i know you've seen it, so many people love Shibuya... similarly to how you do. i'm more than sure there's going to be someone worthy to take the reins of becoming the composer in due time."

"haha, you sound rather confident. i'll... take your word for it."

it was difficult to believe, but there's no doubt Joshua, as the composer, had granted the wishes of many worthy Players to either reach reincarnation, or for runner-ups to become Reapers. It would be impossible for any of the Reapers to take to the ranks fast enough to dethrone them that soon, but... they didn't have his doubts, a number of them were honorable enough, so eventually... eventually... 

"...you know better than almost anyone, Neku... i've grown so tired..."

their tears seeped into Neku's shirt, but he didn't seem to mind in the slightest. they might just cry for another eternity. they uttered, in the quietest voice,

"thank you, for being here... i love you, my dear."

"i love you too, you big sap."

Neku, too, was in tears in this moment.

**Author's Note:**

> this might b rly cheesy/ooc i dont know. whoops. i just like these characters very much. and i write for fun ♡ comment if u enjoyd i definitely want to write more in the future !
> 
> i would like to write more fics w/ joshua where theyre a part of the friend group in real time instead of not being Allowed to be seen or heard because id love to write them interacting more with everyone. its what they deserve... i hc both joshua and neku as autistic but u dont rly see much of it here so i didnt tag as such, but... in the future... well ull see
> 
> i felt that 'lovers in the afterlife' itch get me, so thats where this fic came from, in any case!
> 
> i got a twitter @ marxsoui where i talk/rt/draw twewy very much if u wanna check me out, still workin on gettin secret reports tho


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